Momentum Center to host town hall on lasting effects of COVID on mental illness
GRAND HAVEN — Although pandemic restrictions are a thing of the past, the long-term effects of COVID-19 remain. In response, The Momentum Center will host a town hall to discuss COVID’s effect on mental illness and substance use.
The event will feature a handful of local mental health and human services professionals. It'll be held 6:30-9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14, at the center's new location, 401 N. Seventh St. in Grand Haven. It's the first in-person town hall the center has hosted since the onset of the pandemic.
Anyone in the community is welcome to attend for free. Registration is encouraged and can be done online at momentumcentergh.org/townhall-covid-mental-illness.
Barbara Lee VanHorssen, experi-mentor of The Momentum Center, will facilitate the conversation.
“I think, in many ways, we are still finding our way to a new normal post-COVID,” VanHorssen wrote in a statement. “We've all survived the acute stage of the pandemic, but its effects continue to ripple throughout society, and it's helpful to come together as a community to discuss our concerns and reach for solutions.”
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Panelists for the event include Ottawa County Department of Public Health Epidemiologist Derel Glashower; Arbor Circle Prevention and Advocacy Program Director Leigh Moerdyke; Mosaic Counseling Executive Director Sarah Lewakowski; Bethany Christian Services Foster Care Adoption Supervisor Jamie Maatman-Miller; and Pine Rest’s Bambi LaHaie, a certified advanced alcohol and drug counselor.
Prior to the town hall, a free suicide prevention training will be offered by Mosaic Counseling, beginning at 5 p.m. To pre-register for the training, call 616-842-9160.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Momentum Center to host town hall on lasting effects of COVID
